Is Booking Holdings Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?

Norwalk, Connecticut-based Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) is the world’s leading online travel and related services provider. With a market cap of $172.6 billion, Booking’s operations span over 220 countries and territories across the Americas, Indo-Pacific, EMEA, and Oceania.

Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as "large-cap stocks," Booking fits this bill perfectly. Given the company's widespread operations globally, its valuation above this mark is not surprising. Booking offers its services through five primary consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable, and through a network of subsidiary brands including Rocketmiles, Fareharbor, HotelsCombined, Cheapflights, and more.

The travel services giant recently touched its all-time high of $5,258.20 on Dec. 3 and is trading marginally below that peak. The stock surged over 38% in the past three months outperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 10.3% gains during the same time frame.

Over the longer term, Booking’s performance looks even more impressive as the stock has surged over 47.8% on a YTD basis and 67.3% over the past year, outpacing SPX’s 27.6% gains in 2024 and 33.2% returns over the past 52 weeks.

To confirm the bullish trend, BKNG has traded consistently above its 200-day moving average since mid-August and above its 50-day moving average with some fluctuations since late August.

Booking’s stock surged 4.8% in the trading session after the release of its impressive Q3 results on Oct. 30. The company reported higher-than-expected, 8% year-over-year growth in room night, driven primarily by stronger performance in Europe. Additionally, it has continued to observe a strong topline growth momentum, as its total revenues for the quarter increased 8.9% compared to the year-ago quarter, reaching nearly $8 billion, which beat Wall Street’s expectations by a notable 4.8%. This growth was primarily driven by the massive 26% surge in merchant revenues, amounting to approximately $5 billion.

Additionally, the company has observed an even more impressive growth in profitability, with its adjusted EPS increasing 16% year-over-year to $83.89, surpassing analysts’ estimates by a notable 7.6%.

Booking has outperformed its competitor Expedia Group, Inc.’s (EXPE) 24.1% gains in 2024 and 34.7% returns over the past year.

Among the 35 analysts covering the BKNG stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” As of writing, the stock is trading above its mean price target of $5,077.18.